Earlier this year, the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 “Blue Devil,” a rare, modern-day classic Corvette, was one of eight cars swallowed up by the sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky. Fortunately, though, it was one of three Corvettes confirmed to be repaired and restored, and nine months after that sinkhole incident, the Blue Devil made its triumphant return to the Museum, back to its old form as if nothing happened. However, the Blue Devil also made a brief stopover at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, showing off how well General Motors was able to restore it following February’s catastrophic sinkhole.
The 2009 Corvette ZR1 Blue Devil was actually the least damaged of the eight sinkhole Corvettes, having incurred cracks to the carbon fiber ground effects, its oil lines, its doors, and windshield, as well as a broken side rocker panel and a damaged or warped front fender and rear control arms. Yes, that sounds quite significant, but the Blue Devil was nonetheless in better shape than the rest as it was the last to be swallowed up. As such, it was also the first to be lifted out of the hole, and also the easiest to repair.
Two other sinkhole Corvettes are still in the process of being restored – the others include a 1962 Corvette and the historic one millionth Corvette, a 1992 C4 model. These cars are on schedule to be restored sometime in 2015. As for the other five, which include a 1984 Corvette Indy 500 pace car, a 1993 Corvette 40th Anniversary Edition and ZR-1 Spyder,a 2001 Corvette Z06, and a 2009 Corvette C6, these will be on display as they were after being recovered, in commemoration of that fateful sinkhole incident.